First Minister Carwyn Jones has this afternoon met Theresa May to discuss her Brexit deal. He told me it was the most relaxed and conversational he's ever found her. 'I was sure she thought it was a relief to meet me rather than one of her own backbenchers.' Here's a thread.

He says he told her 'we need to move away from the chaos we saw last week towards stability, particularly in the long term. We need to know what sort of relationship the govt wants with EU. We need to know where the money's going to come from after 2022 when EU funds disappear'

On being left in the dark last week: 'I said to her, look, it's much easier if we are involved in discussions at the beginning than right at the end...I ended up having to give a view on a document I hadn't seen..'

'...Well that's in no-one's interest and I think the voice of Wales and the voice of Scotland needs to be heard earlier on in the process rather than right at the end. That way we can ensure any future agreement & future developments are tailored to Wales' circumstances.'

Mixed messages from Labour? 'I think Keir Starmer & I are pretty much in the same place.' But he & Corbyn aren't? 'We're not that far apart. He's more nervous about the issue of a referendum & I can understand why ...

'...because we've got to be careful as a party not to look as if we're trying to stop something that happened after a democratic vote.'

Hasn't he just thrown away a bargaining tool by repealing the continuity act? 'No. What's it's done is put us in a position where we have an agreement. Scotland doesn't have an agreement. We have an agreement that means powers will come back to Wales from Brussels'

He says the Prime Minister 'was quite chipper... she was more relaxed than I've ever seen her... Maybe she thrives on all this.'

This is likely to have been their last meeting. What has their relationship been like? 'It was very, very formal to being with.

'I think it's become a little less formal over time and in fact the meeting today was probably the best meeting I've had in terms of being able to have an exchange of views and being able to talk and listen to each other. But of course it probably is the last meeting.'

Related threads

Another #Brexit#thread1/ Here's the thing about the Theresa May — Jean-Claude Juncker spat over whether May was vague or not at the #EUCO summit table about her Brexit demands. It’s a sideshow because the undeniable reality is that Westminster-at-large is vague.

2/ Westminister is undeniably vague via there being no majority for any type of Brexit, yet an absolute insistence from the British government and opposition leader that nevertheless a hard-ish take back control Brexit must happen.

3/ That cul-de-sac is Theresa May's fault. Other leaders might have called Jeremy Corbyn, Nicola Strugeon, Carwyn Jones and Arlene Foster round a single table and told them they weren't leaving until a tolerable version of Brexit could be agreed or, per above, tolerated

#Brexit#thread1/ If you don’t follow Brexit every day, here’s some advice. Let go of any illusions that this drama is about trade protocols, residency rights or the status of the Irish border. Brexit is the story of a proud former imperial power undergoing a mid-life crisis

2/ The rest of the world is left listening to Britain’s therapy session as they drone on about their ex-spouse, unable to see, admit or address their own flaws.

3/ The promise of Brexit was that it would make Britain feel big again. “Britain is special,” the Brexiteers assured British voters, who cast their ballots accordingly. But Brexit has proven that for the first time in modern history, Britain is small.

So Theresa mays #Brexit deal is shite leavers and remainers alike hate it but she is under the illusion it is what the country wants. Why is this

The major selling point of this deal is ending freedom of movement announcing it is the only thing that made Theresa May smile

May has form in stirring up hatred against foreigners most notably by putting out the racist vans but this is Isnt the only instance of May being deliberately cruel to foreigners businessinsider.com/theresa-may-ni…

Six months before #Brexit, nobody knows how it will happen. “We’re in a bit of a dangerous position,” said Nick Timothy, May's former chief of staff. “It feels like absolutely anything is possible, from staying in after all to departure without a deal..." wsj.com/articles/there…

A no-deal #Brexit deal means serious immediate economic disruption with ports clogging with trucks awaiting customs clearance. The UK is unprepared, but #EU countries too are uniformly unready for a no-deal exit, a recent “stress test” of the members found wsj.com/articles/there…

1/ Just caught up with Welsh first minister Carwyn Jones on his way out of a meeting with Michel Barnier. Snap reflection: ‘I think the UK and the EU are a long way from an agreement. Time’s running out.’

2/ He presented Barnier with the Welsh government’s Brexit plan which involves staying in the Customs Union but reforming Freedom of Movement to tie the right to reside to having a job offer. In return, MB was tight-lipped on what he thinks of Govt’s White Paper.

3/ CJ stressed to MB dangers of no deal: ‘Last thing we want is to crash out of EU - in nobody’s interest. People in Britain didn't vote for a mess. They voted for something to be done properly not something that would cause a huge mess and would jeapordize jobs.’